Only ridden in for 4 miles/1 hr 15 minutes total and is nice and clean. Very well made with neoprene padding for the roller buckles and leather aganist the horse. Has D-rings for breast plate attachment. Was custom made for the size and color, so I can't return it. Purchased for $105. Asking $90 plus shipping. Let me know if interested!!
I'm a very confusing/annoyed/exasperated person right now. I need to take some time and think things over to try to sort the facts out in my mind. Here is what I have:
1. ) Her current girth is a leather anatomic shaped 20" with elastic on both sides. It fits snugly at the 2nd from top billet hole and I could get it all the way if I pulled harder. It causes pretty nasty rubs at her elbows even with a fleece cover.
2.) The County girth was also anatomic shaped and leather but had no elastic. The 20" was entirely too big and even on the top most hole it was loose. The 18" was likewise too big. The 16" fit ok on the top most billet hole but was still looser than I was comfortable with (allowed the saddle to slip too much) and the buckles were placed so that they were in her elbow.
3.) The 18" mohair without elastic is entirely too small. I can get it to 3 holes from the top if I pull with all my might and it cuts off her breathing. It also rubbed her raw in a very short time.
4.) The Ovation fleece girth I used prior to the current anatomic one is 22" with elastic at both ends and fit her well. She hated this girth with a passion for no reason I could figure out and would kick out at it during a ride which is why I retired it for the anatomic leather one.
Now, I know I am no saddle expert or anything, but shouldn't the size of the girth be the same regardless of brand? I mean it isn't like I'm shopping for jeans where one brand's size 4 is anothers 8 and anothers 0. 18" should be 18" regardless of the material, brand or color, right?
I understand elastic versus no elastic. Elastic would allow a smaller girth to stretch and fit better (although I was told that elastic makes the saddle slip easier and to try to avoid it in a girth for Gem) so one without, such as the mohair, would have little give in it. But then why did the County fit so oddly??? And why did the 22" Ovation fit her nicely??
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Deep breath. Deeeeeeeeppppppp breath.
My new plan isn't a very good one, but it is all I have to offer right now. I am going to retry the Ovation and see how it goes. It is a nice fleece girth. It seemed to fit her well and never caused any rubs. When I tried it on her she started kicking out. At first I thought it was due to burrs getting trapped in the fleece on the trail, but then she started doing it even in the arena. It got to the point where she would kick out at it with her rear leg even walking her on foot to the arena which is when I gave up on it and ordered my current one. Right before we moved to the South so I didn't ride in it until we got here and immediately noticed it rubbing her on any ride longer than 30 minutes. Why try it again? Because I know more now about girth fit and want to see if I can figure out why she hated it so much. If I was pulling it too tight with the elastic and could loosen it some maybe it will be better. Or maybe she will still hate it, but her shape has changed some and it is worth a shot. I won't take it out for a long ride. Just in the arena to see how it goes. If it goes well then all my problems may be solved.
My other thought right now is to try her old Wintec saddle on her again. She never had any problems with it although looking back I basically saddled it up on her neck. No trainer (I had 3 working with me through using it) ever said anything about moving it back and she completed 62 competition miles in it without complaint. Why did I get a new saddle? Because at about 10 miles my left knee started screaming at me everytime to point of almost not wanting to ride anymore. My current saddle doesn't cause any pain at all. She also started to out grow her Wintec. It became too narrow for her at the end with all the muscling up she did through riding the trails. I am interested to see if it fits at all. I still have it and the girth I used with it (42" Wintec girth) and think I will dig them out and try it this week if the weather dries up.
Maybe a dumb question, but is there a reason you're trying all those anatomic girths and nothing (at least in this batch) with a more traditional shape?
ReplyDeleteHannah - Not a dumb question! I have been told, and actually it makes theoretical sense to me as well, that the anatomic shaped girth helps prevent the forward pull of the saddle. In fact, I have seen a small, but very real difference when using an anatomic girth versus a regular shaped one in the amount of forward motion of the saddle on her. It doesn't resolve the problem, but makes a difference. If you think about it (and believe me I have thought about it a lot!) the shape is made so that the billets can hang down straight while the front part of the girth sits in the girth groove. This should prevent the forward motion as the girth is already sitting in part where it wants to.
DeleteI tried the mohair girth not so much for the shape of it. although that was a bonus, but more because the mohair is less bulk and produces less friction. My hope was that it would all the girth to sit where it wants in the armpit and not cause the rubs so much. It may actually do this in te right size, but this was so incredibly too small that the buckles were against her elbow and not the mohair.
Nodnod, the theory makes sense -- I just wasn't sure whether she needed it versus whether it was seeming like a nice to have. Tucker has a fairly forward girth groove as well and we've never had slippage problems despite only ever using a series of traditionally-shaped girths. But he also has a pretty nice wither, and of course individual horse mileage varies!
DeleteShe has a relatively downhill build which doesn't help matter either. Plus she doesn't have much wither to her. Such a pain!
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